Abstract

The evolution of magnetic domain structure in epitaxial La0.625Ca0.375MnO3films on (001) NdGaO3 is monitored as a function of temperature and magnetic field using magnetic force microscopy. We see two distinct regions of magnetic orientational order: one in-plane displaying contrast-less image and the other tilted away from the film plane forming a distinct stripe pattern. A strong domain splitting is observed at the boundary of two regions, which is resilient to reorientation with temperature and magnetic field. We propose a model magnetic free energy functional to explain the mechanism of domain splitting seen in manganite films.

Received 12 February 2012Accepted 21 June 2012Published online 12 July 2012

Acknowledgments:

The authors thank P. C. Joshi for technical help. This research has been supported by grants from DIT. G.S. and P.K.R. acknowledge the financial support from CSIR, India. R.C.B. acknowledges the J. C. Bose fellowship of DST.